Setting device for photographic cameras



May 2, 1961 w. T. RENTSCHLER 2,982,149

SETTING DEVICE FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC oiMERAs Filed Dec. 1, 1959 114 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHl 9 4' 1.96 22 qs n ,5 5.5 f 2 a J57 jya INVENTOR. WaZde/nar f Revise/716W Mun/7, I, Zddy, Daniels dVMfl/"a/I I ATTOPNL'YI SETTING DEVICE FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERAS Waldemar T. Rentschler, Calmbach (Enz), Germany, as-

signor to Alfred Gauthier, G.m.b-H.,- Calmbach (Enz), Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Dec. 1, 1959, Ser. No. 856,512

Claims priority, application Germany Dec. 3, 1958 2 Claims. c1. 74-527 This invention relates to setting or exposure-regulating devices of photographic cameras, and more particu larly to manually operable setting or regulating members which have associated with them manually releasable locking. devices normally securely holding the members in the different adjusted positions.

, In the past various types of setting devices and releasable lockshave been proposed and produced. The special advantageof alocking type setting member resides in'the fact that the'member may be arranged to move very easily or with extremely little resistance, as is required in order to obtain small or fine adjustments, without thelikelihood that the member when once adjusted will be accidentally shifted out of its given position be cause of the friction-free arrangement. However, locking type adjusting members have the disadvantage that the effecting of the release of the locking device requires a special or additional operation on the part of the user, which requirement precludesthe possibility of quickly operating the setting member in the simplest possible manner. 7

An object of the present invention is to obviate the above-mentioned disadvantagerwhich is characteristic. of prior, locking-typesetting. devices, and to provide an improved lockable setting device which not only has the benefit of the lockingfunction but also has a maximum degree of. operational simplicity and enables the adjustment or settingtobe made with great rapidity, approaching that of non-locking setting mechanisms. This object. is accomplished, in accprdancefwith v, the invention, byjtheprovision of a novel organization of setting or adjusting member and manuallyengageable, actuatable part .for. the locking device, these, components being so arrangedwith respect to eachother that the act ofggripping pr engaging the setting member first causes the aetuatablepart of the locking device to be ice escapement assemblage which is automatically disconnected, in consequences of setting or actuation of the exposure-time setting, by means of a connection, lever, linkage or other system which is actuated when the setting member is gripped. Such prior organization, as provided in conjunction with the exposure-time or speed setting mechanism, does not involve any locking means or device, and the present invention differs from this prior art mechanism just described, by the very problem which it is intended to solve, that is, the use of a locking means a or device without requiring a special or extra operation to effect the unlocking of such locking device.

An especially advantageous embodiment of the present invention, setting forth a locking type setting means which is simple in construction and economical to fabricate, involves constituting the adjusting or setting member as a partially masked or enclosed wheel, and arranging the manually engageable actuator part of the locking device so that'it is'located in the gripping region or accessible peripheral portion of the setting wheel, the said part extending beyond the peripheral wheel portion to an extent which requires itto shift and release the locking device prior to engagement of the wheel by a finger being possible. 7 V V Such an emboiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a'fragmentary top plan view of a photographic camera having an interchangeable lens assembly incorporating diaphragm and speed or exposure-time setting members or rings which can be adjusted manually, bymeans of an exposure value setting device being of the special locking type as provided by the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the components involved in the locking-type exposure value setting device provided by the invention and illustrated inFig. 1.. 7

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 33 of Fig; 2. i a V Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 2, but showing the locking mechanism in its released condition, as when the setting device is being adjusted. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view, taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. n a 1 f v Referring to Fig. ;l, the housing or casing of ,the camera is indicated by the numeral 1. On the front side of the housing 1 there is provideda photographic intralens shutter 2 having an interchangeablelens assemblage 3 providedwith a built-in diaphragm the said assemblage being releasably, mounted on the shutter 2 in a shifted so,as to release the lock, as a prerequisite tq ad-t justment of the said member.

['Ihus, by the resentinvention, the same advantages are had in a locking typesetting mechanism, i.ej. simplepperation and rapidity of adjustment, as areobtainedwith well-known setting devices of the non-locking type, where- (in the adju'sting 'membe'r is forcedto remain :in its adjusted position by friction.;,- This is-d ue to ,the fact that the release of the locking device in the pres'ent improved cpti'striiction no longer requiresanyspecial or "additional .knowing the reason for it, first move or "shift the actuating member ofthelockingfdeviee as part of the procedure necessary to engageorigrip'theisetting member;

, The present invention is not negativedby the existence of well-known photographic intra-lens shutters (Ofwhich -I; am aware) wherein an ,exposure-t ime escapement mechanism is provided with ,a': disconnectiblearmature:or

well-known manner, as for example by means of a bayonet coupling. vFor the purpose of effecting a seting of the ,photographic range or distance the interchangeable lens assembly 3 is provided with'a distance setting ringA- which is associatedwith a distance scale .6 cooperable with a stationary index mark 5. A well-known depth-oftfocus scale 7 extends on both sidesofthe' setting or indexmark'S, as is clearly shownin the figure. Y 1 The intra-lens shutter 2 carries an exposuretime-or speed setting rings which is provided with a knurledrim 8a, andalso carriesa transmission ring9 which iscoupled in the well-known manner with the. diaphragm mechanism;oftheinterchangeable lens assembly when'the latter is in itsoperative position as shown in Fig. 1. Scales 10 and-11* areprovided for;,the setting rings 8jandj9grespe'cw 'tively. Both of the scales 1t), 11 cooperate with a setting" or index mark 12 provided on the'periphery of the exposuretime setting ring 8. 'The scale 10 is stationary,

1 whereas the scaIeIlis pmVide'd on the-movable trans mission ring 9. L

In addition, an exposure-value setting ring "13 is rotatably mounted in the shutter}. The setting ring 131 is {fixedly connected (in a manner not shown) 'tdth na mission ring 9 and is in driving engagement with the exposure-time or speed setting ring 8 by means of a known differential gear (which is not shown for the sake of clarity of illustration) and which does not form the subject matter of the present invention. An adjusting wheel 14 which will be described later, serves for operating the setting ring 13. The adjusting wheel 14 may be locked in different setting positions by means of a manually releasable locking device, also to be shortly described.

In accordance with the present invention, the adjusting or setting wheel 14 and the manually engageable actuatable part of the locking device are so arranged withrespect to each other that the act of engaging or gripping the adjusting wheel will require the user .to unwittingly actuate and shift the actuatable part in a manner to cause release of the locking mechanism for the .-wheel.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the adjusting wheel 14 is rotatably mounted on a stationary axis or spindle 15 located withinthe shutter, and the wheel is so positioned between the speed setting ring 8 and the transmission ring 9 (see Fig. 1) that a portion of its outer circumference or periphery (which periphery carries knurling 14a) extends beyond the circumference of the side wall 16 of the shutter housing. The adjusting wheel 14 is fixedly attached to a toothed pinion 17 which meshes with outer gear teeth 13a provided on the exposure value setting ring 13.

The above-mentioned locking device for the adjusting wheel 14 comprises, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, a one-armed lever 19 which is pivotally mounted about a pivot screw '18 in the shutter, the free end of the lever having a shape as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 and carrying a detent tooth 19a which cooperates with notches 20a of a locking disc 20, said disc being fixedly secured to the adjusting wheel 14. A leaf spring 21 serves to yieldably hold the tooth 19a of the lever 19 in engagement with one of the recesses 20a of the locking disc 20.

Y The leaf spring 21 is secured to the short tube 22a of a well-known shutter base plate 22 which carries the mem-. bers of the shutter mechanism, such securement being efiected by means of rivets or screws diagrammatically indicated at 23.

An arcuate part or sector 1% is juxtaposed to the ad justingwheel 14 and is carried by the free end of the lever 19, the said sector constituting the actuating member or part of the locking mechanism. Whenthe locking mechanism is in its operative position as shown in Fig, 2, the sector or part 19b occupies the position shown (see also Figs. 1 and 3) wherein it projects from the accessible portion of the periphery'of the adjusting wheel 14 by an amount indicated by the letter S in Fig. 2, this amount being somewhat greater than the extent of movement required of the actuating part 1911 to effect the release of-the locking'device (that is, to effect a separation of the tooth 1% from the locking disc 20). By such organization, the user in engaging a finger with the setting wheel 14 also unintentionally releases the locking mechanism since such finger engagement of the wheel 14 effects an inward shifting of the sector or part 19b against the action of the spring 21. The inward or depressing movement of'the part 1% is virtually to the periphery of the wheel 14,-thereby disengaging the locking tooth 1911 from the locking disc 20 and releasing the locking. device whereby the adjusting wheel 14 may be readily turned to effect a turning movement of the exposure value setting member 13. 4

- Adjusting or shifting of the setting wheel 14 after release of the locking device, due to the connection between the exposure value setting ring 13 and the transmission ring causes an adjustment of the diaphragm of the lens assembly in the sense of an exposure value setting while the exposure time or speed setting ring 8 remains in its adjusted position, due to the existence of a greater moment of adjustment associated with the speed setting ring 3. The speed setting ring 8 is adjusted for purposes of changing the exposure value only in those cases where the diaphragm reaches one of its end positions prior to the exposure value setting attaining the desired adjustment.

If the setting wheel 14 is released after the desired time-diaphragm relation has been set, this will enable the locking device 19a, 20a to become operative. An adjustment or shifting of the exposure-time setting ring 8 now causes, by means of the dilferential gear above referred to (and the locked condition of the setting ring 13) an adjustment or shifting of the transmission ring 9 and hence of the diaphragm in the sense of a time-diaphragm selection.

In the foregoing description the invention has been explained in conjunction with a photographic camera. In addition to such use, the invention has utility in connection with devices of various kinds, wherein there is a setting or focus device having a manually operable adjusting member which may be locked in various adjusted positions by means of a manually releasable lock mechanism. The invention will result in the special advantage that the release of the locking device does not require any special or additional operation on the part of the user, but instead the unlocking of the setting device is positively efiected without intent, that is, automatically as a consequence of the operator gripping or engaging the setting or focusing member.

I claim:

1. In a photographic camera, a manually operable setting member adapted to be engaged by a finger to efiect its operation; a releasable locking device for said setting member, said device having engageable and disengageable members one of which constitutes a holding means, the engagement of said member providing a locktially obstructing the latter whereby the said act of fully engaging the setting member by a finger first requires the part to be shifted to release the lockas a prerequisite to'adjustment of the member.

' -;2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which the setting member comprises a partially enclosed wheel having .anaccessible peripheral portion, and in which the actuatable part extends beyond the said peripheral wheel portion 'to an extent 'requiring its shifting to release the locking 'device prior to engagement of the wheel by a finger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,385,293 Logan 1- Sept. 18, 1945 2,407,696 Webster Sept. 17, 1946 2,849,891 Mills Sept. 2, 1958 2,910,743 Muhn Nov. 3, 1959 

